•••20 Fellows Selected For Lagos LGAs To Enhance Grassroots Healthcare Delivery
...Federal, State, WHO, NHIA Gather Select 20 Fellows For Lagos LGAs
Nigeria’s health reform drive sharpened focus this week as Lagos hosted National Health Fellows Cohort 2.0 interviews. The Federal Ministry of Health, with Lagos State, advanced strategic human capital development to strengthen the nation’s health system.
The Sector Wide Approach Desk coordinated the two-day exercise, held Tuesday to Wednesday at at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Lagos Office, Osborne Road, Ikoyi. It formed part of nationwide selection to identify young professionals for deployment across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas.
The NHF Programme, approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is designed to create a new cadre of skilled health system professionals to support service delivery, governance, policy implementation and accountability at sub-national and grassroots levels, in line with ongoing health sector reforms.
In Lagos State, a total of 60 shortlisted candidates; three from each of the 20 Local Government Areas, participated in the final interview stage, with the objective of selecting one National Health Fellow per LGA to ensure equitable spread and impact across the state.
Speaking on the exercise, Dr. Oyeyemi Ogunjobi of the SWAp Desk Office, Lagos State Ministry of Health, said the interviews underscored the state’s commitment to building a capable, future-ready health workforce aligned with national reform priorities.
Dr. Ogunjobi explained that the National Health Fellows Programme provides a unique platform to identify and nurture young Nigerians who are passionate about public service and equipped to contribute meaningfully to health system planning, governance and service delivery at the grassroots.
According to her, the transparent and merit-driven interview process assessed candidates on motivation, leadership potential, teamwork, communication skills and ethical values, adding that the final selection of 20 fellows would significantly support Lagos State’s health priorities within the SWAp framework.
Also speaking, the WHO State Coordinator for Lagos State, Dr. Chinenye Okafor, described the quality of candidates interviewed as impressive, noting that participants came from diverse professional backgrounds in line with the vision of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare.
Dr. Okafor said the candidates demonstrated strong commitment, competence and a clear desire to contribute to health system transformation in Lagos State and Nigeria, expressing confidence that the programme would help build a pipeline of resilient health leaders if sustained over time.
She commended the Federal Government and Lagos State for their collaboration, describing Lagos as a trailblazer, and expressed optimism that the selected fellows would help the state maintain its leadership position in health sector innovation and performance.
From the regulatory and financing perspective, the Deputy General Manager, Lagos Zonal Office of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Abraham Bethuel-Kasimu, said the interview process was objective, transparent and technologically driven.
Dr. Bethuel-Kasimu, who supervised the process on behalf of NHIA, noted that candidates were assessed using a real-time online scoring portal that eliminated bias and ensured that no single panelist could influence the final outcome, describing the system as fair and credible.
He added that all candidates were given equal opportunity to be interviewed, stressing that the depth of questions asked was designed to test their readiness for deployment and real-world assignments at the local government level.
On the role of primary healthcare, the Deputy Director, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Kehinde Ososanya, described the NHF Programme as a laudable federal initiative aimed at grooming young leaders capable of influencing primary healthcare delivery nationwide.
Dr. Ososanya explained that selected fellows would be deployed to LGAs to work closely with local government health departments, supporting service delivery, data analysis, community outreach, immunisation, antenatal care and other critical maternal and child health services.
The interviews were conducted by a seven-member multi-sectoral panel comprising representatives of WHO, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), academia and community-based organisations, with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and NHIA serving as observers.
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Some participants during the screening of Next Generation Health Leaders in Lagos State, Physical Interviews for NHF Cohort 2.0 |
Each candidate underwent credential verification, self-introduction and structured assessment based on predefined criteria, including motivation, leadership, collaboration, ethics and integrity, ensuring uniformity and fairness throughout the process.
The final selection of 20 National Health Fellows; one per LGA, is expected to strengthen health system coordination, service delivery and reform implementation across Lagos State, while contributing to the broader national objective of revitalising Nigeria’s health sector through the SWAp framework.
